The big debate in the entrepreneur community at the moment is whether or not college is needed for a successful business or career.

Journalist, Jason Smith, studies the reasons why entrepreneurs should never step foot into college, what are your opinions? Leave a comment and have your say.

The 10 Reasons Why College Is Not Meant For Entrepreneurs

1. You Will Be More In Debt

The dreaded D word, college pricing has been gradually getting out of control over the past decade. The same education that used to be higher quality and more valuable is now much more expensive whilst providing lesser value. Across the world, half the people that go to college do not get the skills necessary to succeed in life. They are basically spoon-fed an educational system of memorization that doesn’t test them and teach critical thinking.

2. Social value

You hear many people discuss the value of socialization among your peers as an essential benefit of college. So many people behave exactly the same way in college as they did in secondary education or high school. Sure, there’s always some maturity that takes place, but for the most part, even in the diverse environment, most people stick to people who share their same values and upbringing.

You can get the same social value by joining a club or an association to learn the essential values of teamwork without the college expenditure. You can also use social networking to reach out to people all over the world.

3. Restrictions on being more innovative

Do you ever hear the likes of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg ever tout their college degrees as the secret formula to their success. Of course, not, that’s because they didn’t earn college degrees. They earned money instead, it comes in much more handy.

The best way to get a college degree is to get an honorary one after you make a fortune and a name for yourself, then an institution can honor you.

4. Still unemployed after college

In most developed countries around the world, half the college graduates can’t even land jobs when they complete their degrees. The students who drop out after figuring out that they don’t fit well within the framework of the institution are not refunded any funds. They have wasted their money and time with nothing to show for it.

Skipping college and starting your own enterprise will be a valuable experience that will put you head and shoulders above your college peers.

5. The use of backwards and traditional methods

College offers traditional teaching methods which are completely outdated. Technology moves at the speed of life and is very transformative. It disrupts the very concept of investing in your college education for a stable career. Around the world, some teenager in his garage may be working on new software or technology that can change the world. The average college professor is only teaching what he or she knows which is no longer applicable in a vastly changing world.

6. Less hands on experience

You can gain expertise through launching your own enterprise. Doing something you are passionate about will be more likely to bring success.

As an entrepreneur, you set your own curriculum based on your passions and interest in life. You then develop a strategic plan to monetize your passion, you can learn the skills you require, follow the blueprint of many entrepreneurs who have succeeded without a college degree. An experienced mentor can steer you down the right path, most college professors haven’t experienced real success outside the classroom, that’s probably why they teach.

7. Rigid learning

College is a very stiff and rigid atmosphere. Life is meant for freedom of expression. College standards and strict guidelines of specialization don’t allow for natural creativity. Entrepreneurs need freedom to create and forge their own path. Textbooks can only teach theory or structure of the way things are supposed to be.

However, entrepreneurs need to think differently, outside the box of conventional wisdom.

8. Less individualism

College tries to paint you in a box to accommodate society. You are expected to simply follow along like millions of others without thinking for yourself. The structure of college prepares you for a life of simply following rules dictated by others. Human beings are supposed to be free people with their own ideas.

As an entrepreneur, you can strive to create your own rules, not government mandated teaching or outdated institutional learning methods.

9. Smaller accomplishments towards your future

As an emerging entrepreneur, you need to gain a mindset of applying real-life principles to determine the results for yourself. Every little progress you make counts as a real accomplishment in the real world.

College only teaches you how to pass exams. As an entrepreneur, if you can create a product or service to market, that’s a real accomplishment that is worthy, most college graduates may never aspire to it.

10. Less risk-taking

Entrepreneurs need to learn to push beyond their comfort zones. Risk is very important to success. You must be willing to take risk and live with your decisions. Sometimes you win, other times you may lose big, but you keep going.

College doesn’t teach the importance of risk, instead they promote security and a safe career. Entrepreneurs must take risks to determine their own path in the world. Entrepreneurs embrace the challenge of calculated risk in order to succeed.

Education should be unleashing the potential of one instead of educating them to just follow and listen to orders, training up another batch of followers. The world needs leaders that dare to stand on his/her point of view and change the world – towards better.